[CCoE Notice] Your computer and the holiday break

[Charles John Young Jr.]

Before you leave for the holiday break, here are a few considerations for 
your computer:

1) If you are leaving for the holidays, and do not need to access your 
desktop computer remotely, please shut it down.  Also, remember to turn 
off your monitor.  This will save energy, and help keep your computer safe 
while you are away.

2) If you do need remote access to your office computer while you are 
away, please remember to turn off your monitor before you leave.

3) The University has notified us that there will be a power outage on 
Tuesday, December 28, between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.  Loss of power is not in 
and of itself an unusual hazard to computer systems.  However, when major 
power distribution systems affecting large areas of campus are switched 
off and on, there are likely to be unusual voltage transients introduced 
into the local electrical supply, and these can and do cause problems with 
computers.  All computers should be connected to the building power 
through a good quality surge suppressor (often included in the better 
outlet strips).  This is no guarantee that computer systems will not be 
damaged, but it definitely improves the odds against it.

4) If you do plan to keep your computer on (for remote access) and if you 
have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), it will need to have run-time 
capacity sufficient for a 4 hour outage (assuming that the planned outage 
does not exceed the scheduled time).

5) If you do need your computer on over the break, and if it shuts down 
during the power outage, Engineering Computing has some capabilities for 
remotely restarting some computers in the College.  If you feel that this 
is something that you will require, please contact us by e-mail.

6) Some server systems hosted in Engineering Computing and many of the 
network components operated by Information Technology are not supplied by 
UPS systems sufficient to cover a 4 hour outage.  Therefore, there will be 
major disruptions to both services and network connectivity during and 
after the power outage.  Please plan accordingly.

7) When you return from the holiday break, if your computer has been off 
for an extended period, it will be behind on critical updates to the 
antivirus software and the operating system.  It is very important that 
when a system has been offline for an extended time, that these updates 
are applied immediately after restarting the system.  For most computers 
maintained by Engineering Computing this process is automatic and will 
occur within 24 hours after the system is restarted.  If you have any 
questions regarding the security status of your computer after the break, 
please contact Engineering Computing

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!


John Young
Engineering Computing